I emailed Quest regarding the test generation I had because it was conducted approximately 2 months after my possible exposure, and I wanted to know the reliability of my test. They emailed me back with this response:

Thank you for your inquiry to Quest Diagnostics. I'm sorry we've taken so long to reply. There was a delay due to the holiday.

Contrary to some information being disseminated, there are no "generations" or versions associated with HIV antibody tests. That being said, I hope the following will answer your questions.

According to the manufacturer of the HIV-1 antibody test kit used by Quest Diagnostics, approximately 50% of individuals who will convert to a positive HIV test result, confirmed by Western blot, will do so by 25 days after exposure. Ninety five to 99% of individuals will convert by the end of two months. Claims from different manufacturers vary slightly with all claims stating the time to conversion falling within one or two weeks of each other.

The letter is correct in stating her percentages of antibody detection and seroconversion. What is not correct is there only being 1 test-there is a 3rd generation Elisa being used by most labs including Qwest. Very few labs smaller labs use the 1st Generation Elisa even though the 1st Generation is still HIGHLY accurate, the only difference being the 3rd Gen is a little more sensitive in detecting antibodies early. The average window period has dropped from 45 to 25 days using current testing. So if you tested 90 or more days from last exposure, no matter which Elisa was used, your test is still accurate.

You need to test 1 more time at 90 days to be 100% sure. When you test they tell you there needs to be 90 days for 100% accuracy. Yes its likely you don't have it but 1 more test will ease your mind so you don't have to worry about this anymore.

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